Sick...again!

In a matter of 13 days Josiah had one ear infection, went through 10 days of antibiotics, went back to the doctor with no more ear infection, and woke up this morning with a double ear infection! MAJOR STINK! I wish our bodies would just heal naturally, but he only got worse when we tried to fever it out and use milk drops in his ears (since I'm breastfeeding I can put a couple drops of milk in his ears every few hours to help reduce infection). So, it was another trek to the doctor and now he's starting a new antibiotic for another 10 days. Poor little boy!!

I just can't help but think how much healthier my little boy would be if he didn't go to day care. Who knows how many germs and illness' are floating around there! I wish I could find a way for me to stay home, or even work part time and find an inexpensive nanny (but really who would want to get paid less than $20 a day?). I can't afford much more than that!

God has done a lot for us in the past month. We randomly decided to put our house on the market so we could move to Story City, and within 18 days our house sold (that was an Easter gift that God gave us!) and he found us an affordable place to live. He is also in the works of helping Andrew go commercial with his coffee business (totally a blessing from God!). In less than a month we'll be moving and hopefully we'll start saving $400/month on gas and housing. Maybe I will pray that God provides even more for us so that at the end of the summer I can stay home full time with Josiah! I have hope that he will...He IS the God of the impossible!

Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Ragman

I love this story of the Ragman, such a symbol of how much Christ loves us! In honor of this Easter weekend, I share this incredible story about the mercy we receive through Christ's sacrifice!

Ragman
by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

I saw a strange sight. I stumbled upon a story most strange, like nothing my life, my street sense, my sly tongue had ever prepared me for.

Hush, child. Hush, now, and I will tell it to you.

Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our City. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new, and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!" Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.

"Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!"

"Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself, for the man stood six-feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular, and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city?

I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.

Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking.

The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers.

"Give me your rag," he said so gently, "and I'll give you another."

He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up, and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver.

Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then HE began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear.

"This IS a wonder," I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away from mystery.

"Rags! Rags! New rags for old!"

In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage, whose eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek.

Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity, and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart.

"Give me your rag," he said, tracing his own line on her cheek, "and I'll give you mine."

The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with the bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood - his own!

"Rags! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman.

The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.

"Are you going to work?" he asked a man who leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head.

The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?"

"Are you crazy?" sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm.

"So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket, and I'll give you mine."

Such quiet authority in his voice!

The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman - and I trembled at what I saw: for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs; but the Ragman had only one.

"Go to work," he said.

After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, and old man, hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.

And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old, old, and sick, yet he went with terrible speed. On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the City, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.

I wept to see the change in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so.

The little old Ragman - he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And then I wanted to help him in what he did, but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labor he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.

Oh, how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope - because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep.

I did not know - how could I know? - that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too.

But then, on Sunday morning, I was wakened by a violence.

Light - pure, hard, demanding light - slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the last and the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, besides that, healthy! There was no sign of sorrow nor of age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.

Well, then I lowered my head and trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place, and I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me."

He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him. The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!

What Parents Say...at least I do!

"Burpy Slurpy"-when Josiah decides to burp, spit up, and then slurp some back in. It's quite nasty!

"Goin' to Sleepytown"-when Josiah decides to fall asleep, or when it's time to go to bed.

"Bare Butt Alert! Bare Butt Alert!"-when changing diapers or getting ready for bath time.

"Farty Party"-this is Andrew's phrase for...obvious reasons

"Rootin' Tootin"-this is my phrase for...obvious reasons

(Josiah's a gassy baby so we say these quite often!)

"Yes I pick my kids nose and no I don't always use a Kleenex"

I'm also well known for making up strange songs to sing to Josiah...here are some of my famous lyrics!

Bath Time Song:
Bath time's here, my clothes come off
my bottoms clean, my spits all off
I get all dressed, and then I eat
and then it is time to sleeeeep!

Now I know what you are probably thinking "wow...she is WEIRD" but seriously, if you are are parent, can you honestly say you don't do WEIRD things like this? If not, then I apparently have problems!

Ear Infection

Josiah had his first ear infection this week. He had a little cough at the start of last week and when Wednesday rolled around he started getting a fever and I thought it would be a good idea to get him into the doctor to figure out what was really going on. I was really concerned that he would have RSV, bronchitis or pneumonia since many kids at daycare were coming down with that. Thankfully his lungs sounded clear, despite his rattling coughing, and the doctor only found an ear infection. Poor little guy was running a high temp, soaring at 102.4 when we arrived at the doctor on Thursday.

I'm not a huge fan of antibiotics and I've heard that they really aren't that effective with ear infections (and that in fact ear infections can clear up on their own). In the future I will remember to consult my chiropractor first and take his suggestions before rushing Josiah to the doctor. However, I am proud that I've managed to keep him happy and his fever down with only a few doses of Tylenol (something that I am also not a fan of). I myself rarely take Tylenol, but since Josiah had such a high fever I thought it best to keep him comfortable with a small dose.

Andrew took a day off from work Friday to stay home with Josiah so I could go to work for Staff Appreciation Day. He got a full day with Josiah all to himself (or should I say "sick" Josiah) which means Andrew spent the entire day rocking, cuddling, and probably never putting him down. I remember calling Andrew on one of my breaks and Andrew was all worked up because Josiah was so fussy and there was nothing he could do to calm him down. I made sure to tell him that now he knows how I feel some days, but also reassured him that he's doing a good job!

The first night after Josiah started his antibiotics he slept so well. I remember waking up at 3 a.m. and going in to check on him because he hadn't stirred once since going to bed at 7:30. Since then, he really hasn't been sleeping well and we are now having to go back to our sleep training methods of crying it out every few minutes. Hopefully he'll get the idea soon, I can't take another night of being up for 3 hours with a fussy boy!

Along with ear infection problems, I've also been having lots of issues with my milk supply. I just can't seem to pump more than 4 ounces at a time, and I'm in need of 6-8 ounces for his bottles and cereal. I tried taking Fenugreek again (it worked the first time I needed to up my supply) but it didn't work this round. And even though I keep pumping every 3-4 hours (even at night) I still can't seem to pump enough. So I resorted to having Josiah drink formula for one day so I could pump enough to make a few bottles for day care. Hopefully that will be enough to help me stay ahead of Josiah so that he can continue to get my milk every day!

'member that time?

hey, 'member that time when my sister, her friend and I were messing around in the basement and they said "I bet we can make you pass out" and I said "nuh uh?" then 'member how to challenge them I hung upside down and hyperventilated and then let them push me up against a door until I passed out? then, 'member how I woke up and had a huge bump on my head and thought I had fallen asleep and dreamed I was watching Toy Story?

then, 'member how a week later I decided to try and make myself pass out so I hung upside down, hyperventilated, and then pushed my chest really hard? and 'member how it worked. Yeah I wasn't very cool.

Post your own "'member that time" and link up http://teamvanvoorst.blogspot.com/2011/04/member-that-time_11.html

Learning to Sacrifice

Andrew and I are getting ready to move again. If you don't know us, we have moved a lot in our marriage, and I mean A LOT! First we moved into a house together when we got married, then a year later our house flooded and so we lived in approximately 5 different places that summer before settling into our friend's basement. Then when I graduated we moved to an apartment in Ames and then a year later we moved into this house. Now here we are, only a year after moving into this house and we are moving, again! Andrew and I have only been married for 4 years...so that's a lot of moving if you ask me!

One thing I am currently learning is the idea of sacrifice. Andrew and I are going to have to sacrifice a lot of things when we move to Story City. We are looking at an apartment tomorrow and I am going to try my best to have an open mind while there. We both agreed that the best way for us to get ahead of our debt is for us to live CHEAP, meaning renting for a couple years. The apartment would be approximately 300 square feet less than our current house, have only 2 bedrooms, no bathtub, no central air, no garage, we would be living above a restaurant which means no ground access, no yard, no dishwasher, and possibly no washer/dryer. Don't get me wrong though, it's still a decent place! In my head though I keep saying "what are we doing??? are we nuts???!!! we have it so good here, so why move????" I love our current house and the more I think about moving the more teary eyed I get. But my heart keeps saying "don't you want to pay off your student loans? don't you want the possibility of being a stay at home mom to actually be a realistic option in the future? don't you want to only live 5 minutes from work? don't you want to help your husband pursue his dream job?"

God has really been speaking to me through a book called "The Treasure Principle." It's a book our Pastor gave us to read and it's really teaching me about the idea of sacrifice and how everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, belongs to God. God blesses us with everything we need and in turn we need to give him the glory and honor for providing for us. Therefore, since everything belongs to God and NOT me, I should be perfectly fine giving up this great house because deep down I know that God is going to provide us with everything we need. So what if I have to be creative in how I bathe Josiah with no tub. So what if I have to hand wash my dishes every day. So what if we have to get a storage unit to store everything that we won't be needing in our apartment. So what if I have to rely on city parks and daily walks to get my dog and child out of the house. It's going to be a challenge, but I KNOW life will be so much more enjoyable when I don't have thousands of dollars in debt tied around my neck.